Eagles offseason intensity ratchets up

They begin first full-squad voluntary camp of 2014.

Will Zach Ertz (86) be ready to take over as the Eagles' top tight end? (MICHAEL KUBEL, MORNING…)

May 26, 2014|By Nick Fierro, Of The Morning Call

PHILADELPHIA — — With the NFL Draft being pushed into May this year for the first time, coaches around the league are scrambling to make up for lost time. Rookies and first-year players normally are further along at this point and more on track to hit training camp at full speed.

Following a rookie minicamp the weekend after the draft, most or all of the team Tuesday will begin voluntary minicamp, called Organized Team Activities (OTAs) in NFL lingo, which will consist of 10 practice days spread over the next 17, ending on June 12.

Not until after the voluntary camp is over will coach Chip Kelly and his staff have a better feel for which newcomers are best prepared to make impacts in 2014 or at least be ready to maximize their time at training camp, which will begin in late July.

A mandatory minicamp will follow from June 17-19. But for now, the focus will be on the always-crucial OTAs for helping set the tone for the rest of the summer and, more importantly, the fall.

Who's ready? Who's not? Which jobs are open? Which are not?

Although the "who" parts can't be answered now, the "which" parts can be, to an extent.

Kelly expects the heaviest competition at tight end, kicker, outside linebacker, cornerback and safety. All of those positions save tight end were addressed in the offseason with additions who will have every chance to start or be key rotational pieces.

As for tight end, could Zach Ertz, who emerged in the second half of his rookie season last year to actually finish with more receptions than starter Brent Celek, be ready to take over? Common wisdom holds that there will be plenty of opportunities for both, and maybe even for James Casey, regardless

But considering how often the Eagles, not to mention the rest of the league, played their "11" personnel package (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) last season, perhaps not.

Ertz actually wound up with more receptions (36) than did Celek (32), but for fewer yards (469 to Celek's 502) and touchdowns (four to Celek's six). Casey, signed to a projected starter's salary as a free agent last year, before Ertz was added in the draft, wound up with just three catches for 31 yards and is due to make just under $4 million this season. Celek is due exactly $4 million.

It will be up to them to make those numbers, which certainly do not compute now, to add up, because Ertz will earn under $700,000, and running back Darren Sproles is expected to be used as an extra receiver on many downs.

Like it or not, money also will be a huge consideration at outside linebacker, where converted defensive end Brandon Graham, a first-round pick in 2010, is due $1.6 million in non-guaranteed salary and another $1.7 in a pro-rated, guaranteed bonus despite being a backup all of last season to Connor Barwin and Trent Cole, who is due $5 million in a non-guaranteed base this year and $10 million next year.

So the sooner this year's surprise first-round pick, Marcus Smith of Louisville, can get himself ready to start, the better.

"I do feel like I have some things to prove," Smith admitted. "I know a lot of fans don't know why the Eagles picked me [at No. 26 overall], but I feel like I can become a great player and I feel that I can become the player that Coach Kelly wants me to be.

"[The reaction] doesn't bother me, it just puts a chip on my shoulder and makes me just want to prove to people more about why they picked me."

Meanwhile, Kelly after the draft hinted at an established pecking order at safety.

"There is going to be a battle behind Malcolm [Jenkins] and Nate [Allen] and how Earl [Wolff] fits into it," Kelly said. "Those three guys are a little more established. How does Chris [Maragos] fit in? You don't know."

Rookie Ed Reynolds also could have a chance.

Similarly, starting cornerbacks Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams will be pressed by newcomers Nolan Carroll, a free agent who came from the Miami Dolphins, and Jaylen Watkins, who was just drafted out of Florida.

Even rookie wide receiver Josh Huff, who ranks below established veterans Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, Arrelious Benn and Brad Smith and second-round draft pick Jordan Matthews, comes in with all kinds of confidence, having played for Kelly at Oregon.

"I'm a lot more comfortable than I would be if I was drafted somewhere else, just because I know what's going on," he said. "Even though I'm a rookie, I can come in here and help some of those veterans that just don't get it yet — I can go in and help them with that. It's just a family environment here, just like it was at Oregon."

Finally, the kicking job will be contested for the first time since Alex Henery was drafted in 2011. Carey "Murderleg" Spear was signed as a rookie free agent after this year's draft.

None of the key personnel decisions will be made until late August or early September.

The process, however, has already begun, and the first public results will be seen Thursday, when the Eagles up their third OTA practice and first of four overall to the media.

Should be a fun summer.

OTA SCHEDULE

Here are the practice days for the Eagles 2014 Organized Team Activities:

May 27, 28, 29; June 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

The practices on May 29, June 2, June 9 and June 10 will be open to the media.